1970 Chevelle SS454 - Big Horse in Black

The '70 model year brought forth a lot of changes in the muscle car world, especially among big-block offerings. The new 440-6 and Hemi 'Cudas and Challengers at the Chrysler dealerships were exciting, and 429-inch Boss and Super Cobra Jets found under the blue oval were hot. Yet the biggest news for 1970 was at the GM franchises. For the first time you could "officially" get a midsize offering with an engine larger than 400 cubes right off the factory floor.

2/8That 454 told the world in 1970 you were packing real power, and the LS6 version was tops. For that reason, former owner Ivan Schildhegn used to tape over the numerals before his Saturday night "cruising" began.

Unlike the Hurst Olds and the rare COPO Chevrolets of the previous years, the factory began creating muscle cars with the big Olds, Buick, and Pontiac mills that had been formerly reserved for the large luxury cars. At Chevrolet, the 427 was superseded by a new, over-square powerplant with a 4.251-inch bore and 4-inch stroke. Those who do the math know instantly that this was the legendary 454. It was a well-designed, excellent-breathing package, and in its optimal LS6 form, it was rated at a big 450 hp. An even stronger version, the LS7 rated at 365 hp, was also announced but never released.

That model year proved to be the high point of the performance era. GM reduced compression ratios across the board for the '71 model year, and the LS6 fell to 325 hp. Then, like its Hemi and Super Cobra Jet rivals, it disappeared into history for the '72 model year. Therefore, when packaged in the redesigned Chevelle, the 450hp '70 LS6 went down as a truly legendary muscle icon in a year of automotive revolution.

3/8The interior was spartan and continued the black theme. Its excellent condition is due to its weathering Wisconsin summers, not the ones found at its new home in Alabama.

When Tim and Pam Wellborn made the decision to open their muscle car collection to the public, they knew it would need to include more than their well-known stable of Mopars. So Tim began looking for worthy examples of those key '70 models, and a W-30 4-4-2, a Buick GSX, a Ram Air IV GTO, and a Boss 429 Mustang have become part of the assembly. But this LS6 is special.

"Roger Gibson summed up this car as 'Big Horse in Black,' one of the ultimate combinations in the muscle car world," says Tim with a laugh. This was before Gibson, the noteworthy restorer from Missouri, went over this vehicle caringly after Tim bought it. He did not restore it. What you are looking at is an original, 33,550-mile car.

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"I was at Mecum's Florida auction in 2005 looking to buy a Challenger convertible, and this triple-black SS454 Chevelle was next to it," Tim tells us. "The more I found out about it, the more I knew it was the right one for us. Needless to say, I didn't bring the Challenger home."

Besides, this car has an ironic Mopar heritage: It was sold new at the Mills Chevrolet dealership in Moline, Illinois, but its first owner traded it in about a year later for a new '71 Hemi 'Cuda. It was then sold to Ivan Schildhegn of Lancaster, Wisconsin, who owned it until his death in 2004. His daughter told stories about how Ivan would tape off the chrome 454 logos on the all-black, cowl-delete machine and go out after unsuspecting stoplight rivals, who thought it was just a regular SS-package car.

5/8The '70 Chevelle was restyled quite differently than its '68-'69 predecessors. The SS grille and tail panel featured a blackout treatment, which only aided and abetted the idea of a "big horse in black."

Tim is a stickler for originality and provenance in his cars. This one is fully documented with a Protect-O-Plate, build sheet, and window sticker, plus records of every single service down to the oil changes and emissions testing. Ivan kept the car registered until his passing. Moreover, while Gibson carefully detailed it under the hood, the bolts, belts, and hoses are as installed at the factory. The sticker price on the sparsely optioned car was $4,585 back then, which was actually not as huge a price as the car's notoriety would suggest. Of course, Tim paid a bit more for it 35 years later.

"The thing is, you cannot deny that original GM build quality," he says in conclusion. "This car drives like it is new. It's a feeling you cannot replicate. Coupled with all the paperwork--since it is easy to duplicate an LS6 install--this is a great car. People who see it appreciate it."
We do. MCR